To be clear, this is NOT the standalone release The Dark Side Of The Moon Live at Wembley 1974 that came out in 2023, which I THINK was taken from the November 15-16 shows and is just the Dark Side of the Moon part of the show. Live At Wembley Empire Pool is the full show (with a mammoth bonus up front) presenting to my ears Pink Floyd at their absolute best: this is not only my favorite live recording of the band; it’s grown to become my go-to album anytime I want to listen to Floyd – at least the post Syd Barrett era of the band. Full of gargantuan solos and massive jams that almost but never lose sight of the fantastic song structures the group were known for it’s a fascinating document of the band not only playing with established classics but exploring the breadth and scope of songs that would become classics on future albums.

It opens with something different, though: a BBC recording of “Atom Heart Mother” performed July 16th 1970 a few months before that album’s release. You can now get the song as part of Floyd’s Early Years compilation, but the Wembley Pool bootleg includes the introduction by the BBC which adds a nice touch even though it does feel a little odd putting this up front before the actual live show. Still, it’s a great recording of a stellar song: Gilmour’s solo is sublime, and Richard Wright makes some righteous noise in a collage that doesn’t overstay its welcome before launching back into the primary theme.

Despite being the tour supporting Dark Side Of The Moon, the show proper opens with a trio of epic-sized tracks that fans at the time would only have been familiar with had they gone to shows. For the rest of the world, they’d ave to wait for almost a year before “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” would grace their stereos, and close to three years before what “Raving And Drooling” and “You’ve Got To Be Crazy” would morph into on Animals. I find it amazing that back in the day a band would spend the first 50 minutes of a show highlighting songs (they’re so fleshed out here it would be a crime to call them sketches or demos) that wouldn’t appear for another two albums, but that’s just what the band does, and based on the audience’s response, it was a welcome opening.

“Shine On You Crazy Diamond” became a live staple throughout the band’s career, opening both 1988’s Delicate Sound of Thunder and 1995’s Pulse. The recording throughout this performance is phenomenal, and the track is vibrant and energized, completely recognizable but with an edge that would be rounded in the performances captured 15 and 20 years later. “Raving And Drooling” is an early version of “Sheep” and it’s basically fully formed at this point. Roger Waters sounds possessed, driving the song with both his vocal delivery and propulsive baseline that would become so distinctive a part of Floyd’s sound even past the point of his departure. “You’ve Got To Be Crazy’ is the early “Dogs” and again – you’d think this was already the immortal song from Animals both from Gilmour’s command of the song and the audience’s response. I love the way Wright mirrors Gilmour guitar during the solo, subtly at first before expanding out with his organ to add more weight to the music.

From there we go into the entirety of Dark Side Of The Moon, and as much as I want to be that guy that insists that the band reached their zenith with Wish You Were Here or Animals (I was never the guy who thought they lost it after Barrett left), I have to be honest: I never get tired of Dark Side. Never. Live it’s roughly the same incredible album, but there’s more elements packed in, from the opening dialog that’s sprinkled over “Speak To Me” to the extended solo that accompanies the opening to “Breathe In The Air” (here without the parentheses). The live rendition of “Time” is a beast, as is “The Great Gig In The Sky” which over the last few years has become my favorite track on the album. “Any Color You Like” is stretched out to over twice its original length, and provides a great platform for Richard Wright to weave his magic on the keyboards.

And just like the studio album, “Brain Damage” and “Eclipse” act as the perfect closers, with Nick Mason really letting his drums resonate on the closer. But for this particular bootleg that’s not the end. Instead we fade out and back in with a 24-minute rendition of “Echoes”. Taken from the November 16th show, it’s a graceful denouement to a fantastic collection of songs and one of the best live performances captured of any rock band from any era.

Just a must-have for any Pink Floyd fan. Essential.